At DC Auto Show, Activists Call on Toyota to Stop Funding Campaigns of Climate Change Deniers
WASHINGTON – At public policy day of the Washington, D.C. Auto Show, activists from Public Citizen called on Toyota Motor Corp. to stop funding the campaigns of climate change deniers. The activists disrupted a presentation to Toyota during the U.S. News & World Report Best Cars for the Money Awards.
“Toyota has been funding a small army of climate denying lawmakers, empowering a dangerous cadre of politicians that are accelerating climate change,” said Adam Zuckerman, senior clean vehicles campaigner with Public Citizen’s Climate Program. “Walking around the DC Auto Show, it is evident that electric vehicles are not only the future, they are the present. Yet, Toyota insists on financing the campaigns of extremist lawmakers, while lobbying aggressively against stronger emissions and fuel economy standards. The world’s largest automaker is pursuing policies that will roll back the modest progress made to protect our communities and planet.”
The activists unfurled banners reading “Toyota: stop driving climate denial!” and “Toyota: stop funding climate deniers!” and chanted “Hey Toyota, stop toying with the climate!” The action comes two weeks after Public Citizen published a report that found that by the end of the 2024 election cycle, Toyota had donated to over four times as many climate change denying members of Congress as Ford Motor Company and nearly twice as many as General Motors.
“Despite over a decade of record-setting global temperatures, Toyota continues the company’s futile effort to hold onto internal combustion and fossil fuels,” said Zuckerman. “While the company continues to play into the extreme politics of climate change denial, Toyota is failing to innovate and plan for a cleaner transportation future. Automakers have a responsibility to prioritize the health of our families and communities. A major part of that responsibility requires the auto industry to start making affordable electric vehicles available to consumers.”
Photos from the event are available here. Please credit JD Knight.
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